A Final Goodbye
by The Doe's Mistress
Summary: One shot. Snape says goodbye to Lily for the last time.


**One shot about Snape saying goodbye to Lily. I own nothing :) Enjoy and please review! **

A silence, a kind of grief had settled over the small village of Godric's Hollow. Nobody smiled, nobody laughed. There was nothing to fear anymore, yet, the huge loss seemed to outweigh the victory that was sought after for so long. They were in mourning; two of their own killed, obliterated as if they were vermin. No, they symbolised all that was good in the world, there deaths all that went wrong. Two people at the heart of the battle slain at the last hurdle. Never to see the finish line. So cruelly removed from the world, but leaving behind a legacy that could never be forgotten.

And here they were, lying still in a casket that would house their lifeless bodies forevermore. Decaying in the mud, the dirt, the place where no person should dwell. Left to rot amongst the millions of others lost to the world. In time, that's all that they would be, a disfigured remnant of the people they once were. To those who remembered, who kept their memories alive; they were so much more.

The ancient cemetery was packed with mourners come to say goodbye and pay their final respects. It seemed as if the whole wizarding community had gathered to lay them to rest. Men, women and children all bowed their heads as the two coffins were carried towards their final resting place. The large trees overhead enveloped the crowd into a pit of darkness, masking the mood of the occasion. A grey, cloudy sky loomed overhead, the sun refusing to shine. Muffled sobs, anguished faces and cries of sadness were all that could be seen and heard.

A tired and grief-stricken man spoke to the crowd. "Today, we bid farewell to two of the bravest people, two loyal friends and remarkable parents. Their loss shall leave a gaping hole in our hearts, never again to be filled. Today, we raise our wands to James and Lily Potter. Everyone in the cemetery raised their wands in unison, showing their respect for their fallen comrades. The man crumpled to his knees as the first of the two coffins was lowered into the open ground.

Beyond the sight of everyone in the cemetery, a dark haired, sallow skinned man looked on. Engulfed by the shadows of the enormous trees, he stood completely still, tears streaming down his face. No quiet sobs just silent grieving. As the second coffin was being lowered, the man had to stifle his cry by clasping his hand over his mouth. No one could know he was there. The tears erupted from his eyes, blurring his vision as he finally lost sight of the wooden box beneath the ground. She was gone,

Her final resting place would be next to the man he loathed, the man she had loved. There were so many things she needed to hear from him. How he was sorry, how it was his entire fault. She would never know. As the people surrounding the grave dispersed gradually through the rusty iron entrance gates, the man made his way towards the open earth. He closed his eyes and for the first time in ten years, prayed to God.

He asked him for forgiveness, for him to tell Lily that he was sorry. As usual, he got no reply. Instead, he spoke directly to her. Sitting on the cold, frost bitten grass he poured out his soul to the girl he had loved so unconditionally.

"I'm sorry about everything. If I had listened to you, accepted your help then maybe…" he choked on the last part, "I should have said these things a long time ago. I understand why you left, if it were me I would do the same. When I saw that you were happy with him, it killed me but I learned to accept it. After all the pain I had caused you, all I wanted was for you to be happy. That was the only kind of love I could give you. A selfless and pure love ensuring constant happiness in your life. Even if you being happy involved me being miserable, I would gladly be miserable my whole life. What I'm trying to say is… I love you. Always have and always will. You taught me how to love and for that you will be in my heart forever. You were the only person who knew the real me, the boy behind the heartless façade. You saw the vulnerable side of me, the side that nobody will ever know about. Until my dying breath, I promise to right my wrongs, to do all that I can to earn your forgiveness. I swear to you… I'll be counting down the days until I can hold you in my arms again."

His face was in his hands as the grief and heartache finally took over his entire being. His pained screams of agony and lost love echoing in the chilly winter air. After all emotions had been cried out of him, the man slowly got to his feet. Wiping his eyes, he looked down into the grave. With a swipe of his wand a mound of earth covered the grave. From the end of his wand, he conjured a single lily and placed it on top of the earth.

"Until then … Goodbye"

With that, Severus Snape disapparated, leaving nothing but a flower upon the fresh grave. To this day, nobody knows that he was ever at the ancient cemetery, where lies the Gryffindor girl who broke his heart.


End file.
